Erling Haaland is a wanted man, we all know that, but Borussia Dortmund don’t want to sell him. Or at least that is what they’re saying.
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With Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola and his father, Alf Inge, going on a recent tour of Spain to meet with officials of Barcelona and Real Madrid about buying Haaland, plus reported meeting with English clubs, it looks increasingly likely the Norwegian sensation will move on this summer.
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has said that won’t be the case, but the with the Bundesliga giants currently seven points off the top four with six games of the season to go, qualification for the UEFA Champion League next season looks very unlikely.
“I like to stick to what the contractual basis looks like and how the direct discussions were held last week. We have very clear plans to go into the new season with Erling,” Zorc said recently.
What is the latest update on Erling Haaland?
Raiola thinks otherwise.
Haaland, 20, has a clause in his contract in the summer of 2022 which will see him available for $90 million, but it is believed the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona and others are scrambling to try and sign the prolific forward this summer.
“I can confirm that I’ve been in Dortmund. Michael Zorc – Dortmund’s sporting director – made very clear that they don’t want to sell Erling. I respect it but it doesn’t mean that I agree. There is no war between me and Dortmund,” Raiola told German TV’s Sport1.
There may be no war, but the battle has commenced.
Raiola has very publicly traipsed around Europe with the intention of letting clubs know that negotiations to buy Haaland can begin. And with 49 goals in 52 appearances for Dortmund in all competitions over the last 14 months, why wouldn’t clubs be scrambling over each other to sign him Haaland?
For Dortmund, this is a tough one. Publicly they have to make it look like they don’t want to sell Haaland, but with no Champions League next season their finances would take a huge hit and selling Haaland would allow them to cover that gap, and then some.
Jadon Sancho doesn’t seem likely to move on given his inconsistent season, while Gio Reyna and Jude Bellingham are rising stars but not ready to be sold for big bucks. Yet. Dortmund will be hit hard if Haaland leaves this summer, but with so many clubs wanting to sign him and in need of a goalscorer, Dortmund know they could get close to $130-150 million this summer if they play their cards right.
Raiola knows that too. Even if he seems to be reluctantly explaining that Dortmund don’t want to sell, that will only crank up the pressure on buying clubs to spend extra cash. Raiola and Dortmund will then be the big winners. This is the way it works, folks.
